Official campaigning started Sunday for elections to pick mayors and assembly members in a number of cities across Japan as part of the second round of a series of quadrennial local contests.
Voting to pick the mayors of 88 cities, chiefs of 12 of Tokyo's 23 wards, and assembly members in 294 cities and 21 Tokyo wards will take place on April 23, the same day voters cast ballots in by-elections for five vacant seats in parliament.
The results of the series of elections could affect whether Prime Minister Fumio Kishida decides to dissolve the House of Representatives for a snap election before its members' terms expire in 2025.
With the approval ratings for his Cabinet picking up recently, there has been speculation that Kishida will dissolve the lower chamber after the Group of Seven summit he is to host in his home constituency of Hiroshima in May.
Out of the 177 mayoral candidates, women accounted for a record 15.8 percent, official data showed.
Of the 88 cities, the mayors of 25, or 28.4 percent, are set to be re-elected uncontested. This percentage remains high despite a decline from 31.4 percent in the previous unified polls in 86 cities in 2019.
The campaigning started with an incident where a man threw what police suspect was a homemade pipe bomb at Kishida on Saturday at a port in western Japan where he was scheduled to make a stump speech. While the prime minister was unhurt, two people suffered minor injuries.
On the following day, Kishida delivered speeches for a candidate fielded by his ruling Liberal Democratic Party at three locations in Oita Prefecture, southwestern Japan, as scheduled.
The National Police Agency has instructed regional police across the country to strengthen VIP protection measures.
In the earlier round of the unified elections, nine gubernatorial races and mayoral races in six major cities as well as assembly elections in 41 prefectures and 17 major cities were held on April 9.
Local elections are carried out every four years in April to cut administrative costs and raise voter turnout.
Voters will also pick mayors and assemblies in some towns and villages next Sunday. Official campaigning in these smaller municipalities will kick off Tuesday.
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